The board of UAC of Nigeria, on Tuesday announced through the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that it has entered into an agreement with South Africa’s Imperial Logistics Limited for an increased shareholder of 57% in MDS Logistics Limited, Nigeria’s leading integrated logistics service provider, and a subsidiary of the group from the current 49%.
In exchange, UAC will receive $2.4m in case, in addition to the transfer of “selected profitable contracts to MDS.”
The transaction, according to the notification signed by Godwin A. Samuel, company secretary and legal adviser to UAC of Nigeria, is based on a $40m equity value for MDS, which was established in 1965 as Manufacturers’ Delivery Services.
The statement quoted Johan Truter, chief executive of African Regions for Imperial Logistics as saying the move is part of plans to expand Imperial’s businesses across the African continent, for which it considers Nigeria a strategically important market.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with UAC to grow MDS and expand its service offering to clients.”
On his part, Fola Aiyesimoju, UACN’s group managing director said “the transaction is an important milestone for UAC and consistent with our strategy of working closely with partners in empowering best-in-class management teams.
“Since the commencement of the partnership in 2013, we have been impressed by Imperial Logistics’ operational excellence in warehousing, distribution, and transport. We look forward to greater integration between MDS and the broader Imperial Logistics platform as we strive to deliver value to clients.”
Taiwo Ajibola, managing director of MDS, the company remains focused on leveraging its “assets, technology and capabilities to deliver value to our clients. We will continue to benefit from the strengths of our shareholders, Imperial Logistics and UAC.”